| PolS 303: Supervised Readings and Research in Political Science PolS 305: Honors Thesis COURSE DESCRIPTIONS Political Science 303 is an upper level “independent study” courses that allows students to develop their own course syllabi under my direction. Students are only admitted to enroll in my PolS 303 for the SPRING semester. Political Science 305 is an Honors course for students seeking department distinction. Students are only admitted to enroll in my PolS 303 for the FALL semester and will continue the following Spring semester. My Admission Requirements PolS 303 Before registering for PolS 303: 1. Students must have successfully completed two regular semester courses taught by Professor Lyles. 2. Students must have earned a grade of “A” in a regular 300-level semester course taught by Professor Lyles in Political Science. 3. Students must have earned a grade of “A” in one of the department’s senior seminars (writing-in-the-discipline classes); i.e., PolS 329, 349, 389, or 399. 4. Students must have a minimum GPA of 3.50/4.00 in all political science courses. 5. Students must submit a petition to join the class by the last week of the fall semester before enrolling in PolS 303 for the following spring semester. Note: I only accept students for PolS 303 for the spring semester. If I approve the petition, you will be allowed to join the class. 303 Petition Guidelines: During the prior semester (the semester before the semester in which the student wishes to enroll), students seeking to enroll in 303 or 305 must submit (via email) a detailed “research proposal” carefully outlining exactly what you plan to do to fulfill the requirements for the course. At a minimum, this plan must outline a specific research topic, preliminary research statement, preliminary thesis statement, preliminary research methodology to be used, and a written justification for the research effort. In three separate paragraphs, students must provide the following: 1. Scope. Clearly and thoroughly indicate the research question to be addressed; e.g., topical focus, hypotheses, etc. “What are you going to do?” 2. Legitimation. Justify your topic selection and explain why it represents important research today. “Why would you want to pursue this research?” 3. Methodology/Design. Explain in detail how you plan to go about researching your question; e.g., data collection, sources, proposed methodology, etc. “How will you approach this analysis?” Your petition to enroll in PolS 303 must be received via email (LYLES@UIC.EDU) no later than one week prior to end of the preceding fall semester. My selection criteria include performance in prior course work and the strength of the petition.Course Requirements 1. PolS 303, students MUST complete all assignments in one semester. THERE ARE NO “INCOMPLETES” AWARDED for Independent Study. 2. As indicated below, students are expected to meet occasionally (usually on Tuesdays or Thursdays at 1 p.m.) If you cannot meet at this time, do not enroll in 303/305 with me. These meetings may last from 1 to 1.5 hours. 3. Assignments: Typically, 303 students are required to submit (1) a formal research paper (20-30 pages in length), (2) four book reviews and (3) individual critiques of other students’ research. Sample Course Schedule Week One. There is no “official” meeting during week one. Week Two. All students enrolled in 303/305 will meet as a group and exchange research proposals. Bring at least 5 copies of your proposal. Week Three Students are required to provide written comments/suggestions on each of their colleagues’ research proposals. You must email your comments on each proposal to each student, and to me, by Friday of the third week. Week Four Your first book review is due. Select a published monograph (book) on the topic you are researching. You must submit your book review via email attachment before Friday of this week. You must use the following guidelines to construct your book review. Prepare an analytical book review on a book you have found related to your research project. Your book review must be typed, double-spaced, stapled, and paginated. At a minimum, you must do the following: (1) provide an overall general summary, including a chapter-by-chapter review and analysis, of the entire book; (2) address each of the following seven questions with regard to the entire book: 1. Clear Statement of Purpose. Identify the author’s major concern: whether critical review of existing literature; analytic treatment of a body of concepts; development of a major theory; empirical investigation of a topic or other. 2. Organization. Indicate to what extent the structure of the book in terms of chapter organization and sequence, the type of data illustrations, and argument, is consistent with the major concern. 3. Conceptual Clarity. Identify the most important concepts used. Note how adequately they are defined; the empirical referents of these concepts if any, the degree to which they embody without further refinement, traditional or common sense concepts; the degree to which the concepts are used consistently throughout the work; the degree to which explicit notice is taken of shifts of meaning (if there are shifts). What are the major hypotheses? 4. Empirical Rigor, Accuracy. If the work is an empirical work, discuss the extent of initial formalization of the problem (the degree to which it is stated in general theoretical terms), the character of the major concepts and how they are used to identify the data which are to be used; the character of the data collection, whether it is exhaustive, a probability sample, or simply a set of illustrations. Discuss the extent to which the data are capable of providing proof or disproof of the major hypotheses. 5. Contribution of the Work to a Body of Knowledge. Discuss the conclusions. Do these add in some fashion to the general body of knowledge in this area? Do they relate firmly to the initial statement of the problem and the intermediate proof? Do they suggest new possibilities for theoretical or empirical work not contemplated in the initial statement of the problem or concern which opened the work? 6. Are Bias(es) Explicitly Stated? Were Measures Taken to Guard Against Such Biases? To what extent are the author’s own values reflected in the work? How does he/she handle them? To what extent are her/his choice of concepts, data collection and analysis influenced by her/his normative bias? What could the author have done to protect against such bias? 7. Intellectual Achievement. What is your general evaluation of the work as an intellectual achievement? What are its uses to a serious scholar? In developing your book review essay in accordance with the foregoing questions, you must cite appropriate passages (including page numbers) to support every argument and/or summary statements you make. Week Five Independent work on your research project. Week Six Your second book review is due. Select a published monograph (book) on the topic you are researching. You must submit your review via email attachment before Friday of this week. Week Seven Independent work on your research project. Week Eight Your third book review is due. Select a published monograph (book) on the topic you are researching. You must submit your review via email attachment before Friday of this week. Week Nine Independent work on your research project. Week Ten Your fourth and final book review is due. Select a published monograph (book) on the topic you are researching. You must submit your review via email attachment before Friday of this week. Weeks Eleven through Fourteen: Independent work on your research project. Week Fifteen All students enrolled in 303/305 will meet as a group and exchange research paper drafts. A draft of your final research paper is due today. NO exceptions. Please bring as many copies of your draft asthere are students enrolled in 303/305 with you. One copy for each member of the group. This meeting will last at least 2 hours. Week Sixteen All students must submit 1-2 page critiques of each other’s research paper drafts. Final Exam Week. Your final research paper is due by Wednesday of finals week. Remember, there are no exceptions to this due date for any reason, and, there are no “INCOMPLETE” grades awarded for 303. Papers must be stapled, paginated, and delivered to my mailbox in by 5 pm. The maximum length (for 303) is 50 pages. The paper must be organized as follows. Each section must by labeled clearly. 1. Title page 2. Executive summary. No longer than one page. Be sure to summarize here “what you did, why you did it, and how you did it.” 3. Introduction and literature review. Introduce the topic, state your thesis, and explain what other’s have said about the topic. 4. The main body of the paper (your research and summary) 5. Conclusion. 6. Future research considerations. If you had more time and/or resources, how would you expand your research? Explain why you did not accomplished this now for 303. 7. An annotated bibliography. This must be annotated; i.e., each entry should include a two-three sentence summary of the work listed. See theChicago Manual of Style for format. 8. Grade, tell me what grade you think you deserve for your 303 experience, why? Grading Scale Four book reviews (10 points each) 40% Final Research Paper 40% Attendance and participation at required meetings, including critiques, 20% PolS 305 Students must enroll in POLS 305 for 3 semester hours in each of the fall and spring semesters of the student’s senior year. Both the course and credit hours must be in addition to those required for the major. The level of distinction (distinction, high distinction, highest distinction) is determined by the department faculty, who will consider the recommendation of the faculty examining committee and the candidate’s GPA. To be considered for graduation with Distinction in Political Science, a student must have a minimum, cumulative UIC GPA of 3.25/4.00 and a minimum GPA of 3.50/4.00 in all political science courses. Students with the required grade point averages must write and present to a faculty examining committee of the department an acceptable essay while enrolled in POLS 305—Honors Course—and defend it before that committee. The student must enroll in POLS 305 for 3 semester hours in each of the fall and spring semesters of the student’s senior year. Both the course and credit hours must be in addition to those required for the major. The level of distinction (Distinction, High Distinction, and Highest Distinction) is determined by the department faculty, who will consider the recommendation of the faculty examining committee and the candidate’s GPA. Because the Department of Political Science Honors Thesis also fulfills the requirements for the Honors College Capstone, the thesis, at a minimum “should prepare students for the rigors of research, writing, and scholarly presentation associated with post-graduate professional programs and graduate programs. It is more in-depth and demanding than a typical upper-class undergraduate paper. It involves creation of new knowledge or insights rather than simply a summary or synthesis of known “facts” or past work in the chosen area of study.” To successfully complete the Honors Thesis, “the student must complete such steps as reviewing the theoretical and methodological background literature, conducting research and collecting data, writing a paper on the project, and presenting the project in a public academic forum. In addition to maintaining high quality scholarship, students are expected to strive for well-written papers, to use good citation practices, and to present their work in a professional manner. The project may serve as a bridge to even more challenging research and innovation in their postgraduate careers.” Unless otherwise approved by the Thesis Advisor, papers should be approximately 40-90 pages in length, in APA format, and double-spaced. Additional pages can include references, tables, figures, appendices, etc. Before registering for PolS 305 (Honors Thesis) with Professor Lyles, students must meet all the requirements for PolS 303 with Lyles:1. Students must have successfully completed two regular semester courses taught by Professor Lyles. 2. Students must have earned a grade of “A” in a regular 300-level semester course taught by Professor Lyles in Political Science. 3. Students must have earned a grade of “A” in one of the department’s senior seminars (writing-in-the-discipline classes); i.e., PolS 329, 349, 389, or 399. 4. Students must have a minimum minimum GPA of 3.50/4.00 in all political science courses. 5. Students must submit a petition to join the class by the last week of the fall semester before enrolling in PolS 303 for the following spring semester. Note: I only accept students for PolS 303 for the spring semester. If I approve the petition, you will be allowed to join the class.305 Petition Guidelines: During the prior semester (the semester before the semester in which the student wishes to enroll), students seeking to enroll in 303 or 305 must submit (via email) a detailed “research proposal” carefully outlining exactly what you plan to do to fulfill the requirements for the course. At a minimum, this plan must outline a specific research topic, preliminary research statement, preliminary thesis statement, preliminary research methodology to be used, and a written justification for the research effort. In three separate paragraphs, students must provide the following: 1. Scope. Clearly and thoroughly indicate the research question to be addressed; e.g., topical focus, hypotheses, etc. “What are you going to do?” 2. Legitimation. Justify your topic selection and explain why it represents important research today. “Why would you want to pursue this research?” 3. Methodology/Design. Explain in detail how you plan to go about researching your question; e.g., data collection, sources, proposed methodology, etc. “How will you approach this analysis?” How will your work includecreation of new knowledge or insights rather than simply a summary or synthesis of known “facts” or past work in the chosen area of study.” Your petition to enroll in PolS 305 (fall) must be received via email (LYLES@UIC.EDU) no later than one week prior to end of the preceding spring semester. My selection criteria include performance in prior course work and the strength of the petition. |
Kevin LylesMar 30, 2016
Hi all,
Remember that we scheduled a meeting for tomorrow 3/31 since we did not meet the week prior to break. Everyone should have finished their revised research proposals (per our comments last meeting) AND be prepared to present/discuss 2-3 primary sources. For the next few weeks you will all be working on producing an annotated bibliography for your paper. The annotated bibliography is due the last day of class. I need at least 30 sources, of which only 10 can be from the internet. The rest must be reputable primary sources; i.e., books, journal articles, newspaper (e.g., NYT), etc.
“An annotated bibliography is a list of citations to books, articles, and documents. Each citation is followed by a brief (usually about 150 words) descriptive and evaluative paragraph, the annotation. The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited.”
If you have forgotten how to write an annotated bibliography, you may wish to refer to this page:
http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/annotated-bibliographies/apa-examples/
http://guides.library.cornell.edu/annotatedbibliography
http://guides.spsu.edu/annotated_bibliography
Our meeting schedule for the rest of the semester:
Thursday March 31
Thursday April 7 (NO MEETING)
Thursday April 14
Thursday April 21
Thursday April 28 (last meeting, annotated bibliography is due).
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Kevin Lyles
Kevin LylesFeb 7, 2016
Please read the “syllabus 2015” document attached to that page.
We will not meet as a group tomorrow (2/4); but your petition is due by Sunday Feb. 7 by midnight. You are required to provide copy of your petition to each member of 303 (the four other students) and to me (lyles), and Larissa. Everyone is required to review, critique, comment on each other’s proposed research project and post written constructive comments. The comments are due by Wednesday 2/10. I will set up a wiki page where you can post your petition and make your comments in the next few days/hours. Again, you will draft your own petition and review/critique four others. Students enrolled for 3 credit hours will submit the final research paper. Students enrolled for 1 credit hour will not submit the final research paper. Please read the syllabus carefully, I am open to suggestions for revisions.
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